A Red Plaque has been unveiled for a Glasgow firefighter on the fiftieth anniversary of his death in the line of duty.
Adrian McGill, aged 34, was attempting to rescue a trapped woman in a fire at Maryhill Road in Glasgow, and it is thought that in an attempt to save her life he gave her his oxygen mask. His body was later found with signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Tragically, the woman also died.
The incident took place on 18 November 1972.
The plaque was unveiled at Maryhill Fire Station (775 Maryhill Rd, Glasgow G20 7TL), on Friday 18 November 2022.
At the time of his death Mr McGill was married with three children, with his youngest child being just eight months old. He was the eighth Glasgow firefighter to die in a fire in three months, with seven firefighters dying in the Kilbirnie Street textile warehouse blaze in August, and the 27th to have lost their life in the previous 12 years.
The Fire Brigades Union’s Red Plaque Scheme commemorates firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.
Matt Wrack, Fire Brigades Union General Secretary, said:
“Firefighters will always do everything they can to save lives. Adrian McGill’s bravery extended to laying his life down in an attempt to save another. It is so important that what he did is never forgotten. Red Plaques help firefighters to feel connected to those who came before them and helps them to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the line of duty. The Fire Brigades Union is proud and privileged to play a role in making sure that Adrian McGill is remembered.”
Seona Hart, FBU Scotland Regional Treasurer, said:
“Adrian McGill made a split-second decision out of care for someone else, a stranger who he had never met before, and a decision which he would have known came with huge risk. It is self-sacrifice on an almost indescribable scale. There’s a quote that states that there is no more stirring symbol of our humanity towards others than a fire engine. Adrian McGill and what he did personify that.
“This plaque will ensure that the Glasgow community knows about the sacrifice that Adrian McGill made, and it will help Glasgow’s firefighters remember one of their own.”
At Adrian McGill’s funeral the then-Archbishop of Glasgow, James D. Scanlan, said “So often our firemen have to risk their lives protecting us in Glasgow from fire. The example of this brave fireman and his predecessors who have given their lives so unstintingly and unhesitatingly will be an inspiration to all of us… When his children grow up they will be able to tell their children, and their children’s children of the epic heroism of their father”.
The incident began after a serious fire developed in a shop on Maryhill Road, Glasgow. A witness statement stated that a “massive flashover” occurred. People were encompassed in black smoke including on the road outside.
Firefighters rescued 15 people by ladders and guided more than 200 out of the smoke filled area, and fifty families were made homeless in the fire. 15 fire engines were involved in the incident. Four other firefighters were treated for injuries, including one who fell 30 feet.
The Red Plaque Scheme is fully funded by proceeds from the weekly Firefighters 100 Lottery which has been able to create several plaques each year since it began in 2017. Over time, as supporters of the Lottery continues to grow, more Red Plaques can be placed at the heart of communities affected by firefighter fatalities.
Some detail taken from local press articles: http://www.graemekirkwood.co.uk/SFB/Memorial/McGill.htm, and https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/13251587.weekend-blaze-in-1972-left-trail-of-devastation/
